Peru Drugs Bust: Michaella McCollum Connolly And Melissa Reid's Police Statements Published

The statements of the two British girls charged with smuggling £1.5m of cocaine out of Peru have been published, chronicling the time leading up to their arrests.

Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid are currently being held in a notorious Peruvian jail "without blankets or food" where they face up to fifteen years in jail if convicted.

Since being charged their account of events has been doubted by the authorities including a police chief in Ibiza.

Nightclub hostess Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and Melissa Reid

The Mail on Sunday has published in full their statements made to Peruvian officials after their arrest where they allege they were forced - sometimes at gunpoint - to carry the drugs on a flight to Spain.

Both girls - who did not previously know each other - had been working at different bars on the island of Ibiza during the famous summer party season.

It is here they claim to have met a man called Jake at the end of June who, with the help of a number of other men, forced them to go to Majorca.

Melissa, 19, said: "I was taken to an apartment in Madrid. Enrique pointed the gun at me and told me I was going to travel and bring back some things that some friends of him were to give me.

Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and Melissa Reid have been charged with drug offences

"He didn’t specify what kind of things. On Friday, Julio brought a plane ticket to Majorca. Enrique called and told me I would travel there – under permanent watch – where they would be waiting for me."

Michaella, 20, claims to have been through a similar experience, her passport taken from her and forced to travel to Majorca. When she argued with the men she claims to have had a gun puled on her.

She said: "I realised I was in trouble. He told me to shut up, saying I would be home in a week. He told me ‘the mafia’ would treat me well if I treated them well and if I did what I was told I would be home in a week."

The two girls met in Majorca where they were told they would be travelling to Peru.

Despite claiming to be "constantly threatened with guns" in Majorca, Michaella also details how on a Sunday both girls went to the beach.

At the end of July both girls were forced to fly separately to Lima in Peru. They met up and took a flight to Cusco.

Michaella said: "After speaking with Melissa, I was definitely feeling paranoid since we had both been threatened."

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Describing their time in Peru, Mellissa said: We were picked up in Cusco by a guy called Americo, who identified himself as a guide. He arranged everything for our four-day tour to Machu Picchu, Sacsay huaman and the Sacred Valley. Enrique was constantly in touch."

Michaella said: "Melissa had a camera that Enrique had given her. He told her to take many pictures during our tour. We took many pictures of all our activities."

A few days later they claim a man gave them " a plastic bag containing small packages " which they had to hide in their suitcases.

Michaella said: "One bag had 16 packages, the other 18. They were wrapped in newspaper. While Enrique was speaking with us, we told him we did not want to go on with this. He told us we had to because his friends were waiting for us downstairs and they would be following us on our way to the airport.

"He told us it was a ‘sure thing’, that the packages were a ‘sure thing’, that he had someone, some kind of contact at the airport, and that it was all right, that we would only get caught if we revealed nervousness and that would be our fault."

The next day they were taken to the airport where they were to board a flight to Spain. They claim they had no idea what they were carrying.

Mellissa said: "When we were at the counter to check in, I felt paranoid. I thought everyone was watching us. Michaella put her suitcase on top of the scale."

It was at this point a police sniffer dog indicated the girls were carrying something. They were taken to a room where their bags were unpacked and the cocaine was found.

Then girls were asked if at any point they could have told the authorities of what was going on.

Michaella said: "There were opportunities, yes, at the airport, during the tours we made, when some police officers asked us to take a picture with them, but we were too scared because if we told the police we would be called to testify and they had pictures of my family and a photocopy of my passport."

The two girls face a lengthy wait of up to three years in a jail with some of Peru's most notorious and dangerous prisoners before they stand trial.